According to Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, the European Union must encourage the Belarusians not to be afraid to carry out a Velvet Revolution similar to the one that took place in Czechia in November 1989 that brought an end to Soviet rule. He also added that the Visegrad Four countries, which include Czechia, Hungary, Slovakia, and Poland, together with Baltic States, must play their part.
In his appeal, the Czech prime minister also referred to the 2014 Russian annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula and the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, according to a report from Aktualine.cz.
“What must not happen in Belarus is what happened to us in 1968. The European Union must take action. It must encourage Belarusians not to be afraid to carry out their own Velvet Revolution similar to the one of November 1989. That is why I am committed to this cause, and also why the V4, together with the Baltic States, should play its role,” said Babiš.
“Europe must negotiate with President Putin. I want to make it clear that what happened to Crimea or our country in 1968 must not happen again,” said Babiš in his regular Sunday video report to Czechs, which he normally publishes on Facebook.
According to him, Europe must act quickly. He spoke about the situation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. He will also talk to Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.
“I think that the V4 should have played the main role as our colleagues from the West did not experience such a situation. They did not experience the year of 1968, the Velvet Revolution. Therefore, we must support the Belarusians in this,” the prime minister added.
In Belarus, protests continue against the alleged falsification of the presidential election results and the brutality of the police against the demonstrators. Despite protests, the Central Election Commission has officially confirmed the “crushing victory” of longtime President Alexander Lukashenko.
The opposition candidate, Sviatlana Cichanouska, did not accept the results and asked for a recount of votes. Subsequently, she fled abroad.
The Czech public has also supported Belarus. On Saturday, a demonstration took place in Czechia to show solidarity with Belarusians, and on Sunday afternoon, two more took place in Prague and Brno. About 1,000 people attended the gathering in Prague.
EU foreign ministers agreed on Friday on sanctions against Belarusian officials responsible for violently suppressing protests and falsifying election results.
Title image: Czech PM Andrej Babiš (Facebook)
